Alkem Laboratories and Lowe Lintas developed DawAI Reader, the first AI-powered device trained to decode illegible prescriptions, created specifically for rural Indian chemists who often serve as the only accessible healthcare providers. The device was purpose-built to address a critical gap in frontline care — misread prescriptions that contribute to widespread medical errors.
Unlike generic OCR tools, DawAI was trained on over 100,000 real prescriptions and uses fuzzy logic, contextual analysis, and a verified drug database to accurately interpret doctors’ shorthand. It reads results aloud in regional languages, empowering chemists with limited formal training to make safer dispensing decisions. Piloted across 250 villages and reaching over 100,000 families, the device helped reduce errors, increase patient trust, and generated demand purely through word-of-mouth. With no paid media or trade incentives, DawAI became a scalable healthcare solution and a symbol of Alkem’s shift from pharmaceutical supplier to enabler of systemic change in rural healthcare.
